Paper processing machines for processing workpieces in the form of sheets, plates or the like



Jan. 9, 1962 F. scHROTER 3,016,006

PAPER PROCESSING MACHINES FOR PROCESSING WORKPIECES IN THE FORM OF SHEETS, PLATES OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1W H Jl H Jll Jan. 9, 1962 F. SCHROTER 3,016,006

PAPER PROCESSING MACHINES FOR PROCESSING WORKPIECES IN THE FORM OF SHEETS, PLATES OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I l L Jan. 9, 1962 F. SCHROTER 16,006

PAPER PROCESSING MACHINES F0 OF SHEETS,

R PROCE NG WORKPIE S PLA IN THE FORM TES THE LIKE Filed Sept. 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 [m enfon- Jan. 9, 1962 F. SCHROTER PAPER PROCESSING MACHINES FOR PROCESSING WORKPIECES IN THE FORM OF SHEETS, PLATES OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 In vemor: WW

Jan. 9, 1962 F. SCHRC'JTER 3,016,006

PAPER PROCESSING MACHINES FOR PROCESSING WORKPIECES IN THE FORM OF SHEETS, PLATES OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Ema 53L E 1/106 10$ I J 39 H I z 29 fig A! United States Patent Ofiice Patented Jan. 9, 1962 3,016,006 PAPER PROCESSING MACHINES FOR PROCESS- ING WGRKIKECES IN THE FQRM F SHEETS, PLATES OR THE LIKE Friedrich Schriiter, Friedhofstr. 14, Hannover, Germany Filed Sept. 21, 1956, Ser. No. 611,394 Claims priority, application Germany Oct. 10, 1955 5 Claims. (Cl. 101-3) The present invention is based on the discovery that in connection with paper-processing machines which serve for the processing of workpieces in the form of sheets, plates and the like, it is necessary that control devices which serve for influencing the working sizes or working conditions should be adapted for operation from all points of the machines, which are usually of very great length. This is all the more necessary, because the essential correcting measures can only be decided upon by reference to a workpiece which has already travelled through the entire machine and therefore contains the results of all the actions exerted thereon, so that it can for the first time be recognised which of the actions is still not correct, so that new settings and readjustments have to be carried out in order that all workpieces manufactured or processed by the machine can be obtained in the required condition when the machine is running operationally.

In order therefore to save unnecessary waste of time due to the machine operators constantly changing their position, it is necessary that the control devices should also be operable from the end of the machine. However, this does not exhaust the requirements which are to be placed on such paper-processing machines. In actual fact, devices to be constructed in a specific manner are to be associated with the devices for influencing the working sizes or working conditions which are to be operable from different parts of the machine, in order to be able to operate with indicating devices for adjustments which are already effected, these indicating devices being constructed in an extermely simple manner and as far as possible only as counter mechanism; if this procedure is not adopted, the devices for signalling adjusted working sizes or conditions cause such an expenditure in construction that it no longer seems possible to use these on economic grounds.

Starting on the basis of this knowledge, paper-processing machines for processing workpieces in the form of sheets, plates and the like and having devices for influencing working sizes or conditions, are characterised according to the invention by the fact that the devices include control means which effect spacing adjustments carried out intermittently by individual distances which are preferably constant and also adjustments of any desired value which exceed the individual distance adjustment as regards size but which are still within the scope of the total possible adjustment.

As such devices, it is for example possible to use devices for adjusting the spacing between the tool and the workpiece support, and also devices for adjusting the register of the paper-processing machine.

When carrying out such adjustments, it can however happen that this adjustment is effected just at a moment when the maximum working forces are operative in the machine. For example, when the machine concerned is an automatically operating machine for stamping or embossing thick sheetlike paste-board, it can happen that tlfie adjustment is carried out just at the time that the maximum stamping or embossing pressure is effective. The driving means of such adjustment devices would however become uneconomically large if they and the adjustment means as such were to be constructed so that the adjustment would be effected in spite of the occurrence of the maximum stamping or embossing pressure. In order to prevent this, the spacing-adjustment means according to a further development of the invention comprises safety clutches which become operative on such stamping o embossing pressures occurring during the adjustment, so that it becomes possible for the drive means and adjustment device itself to be constructed so that it is only sufficient for producing the necessary forces of adjustment.

It is of course necessary to ensure that the adjustments which are carried out are maintained, so that the machine operator is informed at any time as to the prevailing adjustment of the distance. In connection with stamping machine, it is for example the degree of stamping, while with embossing machines it is the depth of embossing, which are very dependent on the spacing and it can become necessary for the degree of stamping and embossing to be modified during the processing of the same stack of workpieces in order to be able to conform immediately to the prevailing conditions. Accordingly, it is preferable to provide scale arrangements for indicating relatively large adjustments in spacing, at least one of such scale arrangements being provided at the main operating position of the machine. On the other hand, for indicating adjustments in spacing which are carried out intermittently, counter mechanisms will be provided which are preferably arranged distributed over the entire machine so that the machine personnel, regardless of the position they must occupy for operating the machine, are informed by a glance at the counter mechanisms as to whether increases or decreases have been made in relation to a predetermined counter mechanism reading, which make it apparent that the spacings were reduced or increased.

In a further development of the invention, the actuating means for the control and indicating arrangements for effected adjustments are advantageously provided at those positions on paper-processing machines at which the testing of the workpieces is carried out. This is generally the end of the machine, although this does not exclude the possibility of these actuating and indicating means being provided at all the places of the machine at which it is expedient or even necessary to make adjustments during the running of the machine. As a result of the indicating means, it can be immediately established and checked how large the paths of adjustment carried out were, so that on the basis of the result which is produced, it can be immediately estimated what further adjustments and the extent of these adjustments which are necessary so that the workpiece assumes the required appearance.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one constructional form of the invention by reference to the construction of control devices for means for adjusting the spacing between the workpiece and the workpiece support of an automatic stamping machine, which is not shown in detail, and as a further example the front and lateral mark adjustments of a paper-processing machine, for example a printing machine, which is not illustrated as such.

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically the adjusting arrangement with its control means, while FIG. 2 shows the adjustment means for the front and lateral marks with the control device, again in diagrammatic form.

FIG. 3 is a vertical central sectional view showing the general arrangement of an automatic punching machine, in which the devices according to FIGS. 1 and 2 have been incorporated by way of example.

FIG. 4 is an external view of the machine with individual parts thereof being shown in section.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the machine viewed in the direction of the arrow V in FIG. 4.

,FIG. 6 is a bottom plan View of the upper platen of the machine.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side View of the upper part of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line XX of FIG. 7.

In FIG. 1, the reference '1 represents the tool constructed as a stamping device, which is arranged on the movable top platen 2 of the automatic stamping machine. The reference 3 indicates the workpiece support which is constructed as a counter-stamping plate. The workpiece itself is situated between the parts 1 and 3. With machines in' which the operation is carried out with tools consisting of two parts, the second tool part is always arranged at a machine part to be considered as a workpiece abutment. While the movable top platen carries outthe actual working movement, in this case the stamping movement, the bottom platen 4 carrying the counterstamping die 3 is stationary, but is arranged to be adjustable in such manner that the degree of stamping carried out on the workpiece disposed between the parts 1 and 3 can be adjusted as desired. For this purpose, the following devices are provided:

The bottom platen 4 is supported by wedges 6 in relation to the machine frame 5 carrying it, at least two wedges being arranged spaced apart longitudinally of the bottom platen 4, so that the adjustment movement of the bottom platen 4 takes place completely uniformly. The wedge elements 6 constructed as straight edges are under the influence of a pressure and traction spindle 7 which is in threaded engagement with the hub S of the worm wheel 9. The worm wheel 9 meshes with the worm 10 of the adjusting motor 11. Arranged between the adjusting motor 11 and the worm 10 is the slipping clutch 12 which acts as a safety coupling and which is preferably made adjustable so that it is possible to determine the torque which, when exceeded, cause the clutch to become operative so that the motor 11 turns without driving the worm and thus the complete adjustment means. Its movements are transmitted by the spindle 10 to the shaft 13, which operates through a gear 14 on the scale drum 15. The scale drum 15 is provided with a scale 16 on which an index pin indicates the total adjustments of the bottom platen 4 which have been carried out by means of the setting means. Arranged on the shaft 13 is a terminal switch 27 controlled by a cam on the shaft 13, which switch automatically interrupts the supply of current to the motor 11 after a single revolution of the shaft 13. The motor 11 is under the influence of the switch button control 17. This comprises press button actuating means 18, 19 in such manner that a pressure on the button 18 initiates a revolution of the shaft 13 in such manner that the bottom platen is lifted by a predetermined amount, for example by A of a millimetre, so that the spacing between the parts 1 and 3 is reduced. Conversely, a pressure applied to the button 19 again causes a movement of the bottom platen 4 by a hundredth of a millimetre, but this time the movement leads to an increase in the spacing between the parts 1 and 3. The action of the gear 14 is that the scale 16 is turned by one graduation with each revolution of the shaft 13. Also provided are countermechanisms 20, of which only one is indicated. Whereas the measuring scale 14, 15, 16 is only provided at the main operating point of the machine,

- it is possible to arrange any desired number of counter mechanisms 20 at all those places on the machine at -which personnel operating the machine are usually stathe degree of stamping, this decrease being by another two hundredths of a millimetre, the button 18 is depressed two more times so that the figure O14 appears in the counter. The circumstances may however besuch that, for example, when changing tools, the bottom platen is to be lowered to its lowermost position so that the tools can be easily changed. In this case, the button 18 is depressed until the figure 1 nought appears on the scale 16 and in the counter 20. In order to avoid overdriving of the wedge member 6 during this operation, a terminal switch 21 is provided which is under the influence of the switch cam 24 connected to the wedge member 6. Through the switch button control 17 and the branch line 23, the switch 21 switches off the motor 11 as soon as the switch cam 22 contacts the abutment formed by the switch 21. A switch cam 22 with a terminal switch 25 is provided for the same purposes on the opposite end of the wedge member 6, the said switches 21 and 25 being connected conductively to the switch button control 17 by way of the line 26.

In conjunction with suitable switching means in the switch button control, the switch 27 has the eifect that even with only a temporary actuation of a button 18 or 19, the switching step thus initiated is completely carried out. This applied for any desired number of switching steps, if one of the buttons 18 or 19 is actuated as long as the duration of the time sequence of the steps. If it happens that an interval occurs during the period of one of the switching steps in which an actual stamping or embossing operation takes place, so that the safety clutch 12 responds, the shaft 13 and thus the switch 27 remain stationary. This means that the motor 11 is still supplied with current when the parts 10, 13 and thus 27 are set in motion again, and that in addition the adjusting process lasts until the terminal switch 27 switches ofi" the complete unit after completing a full revolution of the shaft 13, provided that one of the buttons 18 or 19 is not further actuated. Once a switching step is initiated, it is always completely carried out in this way. The counter mechanisms 20 which are electrically dependent on the switch button control 17 therefore constantly give just as accurate a ready as the scale 16.

In FIG. 2, the reference 28 indicates the laying-on table, while 29 shows the front marks and 30 the side marks. The adjusting motors are indicated at 31. while the gear housing is indicated at 32, the gear wheel transmissions for the speed of adjustment at 33, gear wheel transmissions for step-by-step adjustments at 34, gear wheel transmissions for the total range of adjustment at 35, indicating scales for the complete range of adjustment at 36, step-by-step switches at 37, switching cams thereof at 38, terminal switches at 39, the switching cams thereof at 40, control press buttons each acting in one direction of adjustment at 41 and 45, switch relays at 43 and 44, one of the counters to be used at 49, the auxiliary relay thereof at 46, fuses at 47 and adjusting spindles at 48.

The operation of this arrangement is as follows: If one of the control press buttons 41 or 42 is briefly actuated, the switch cam 38 concerned makes one revolution for each switching step, whichfor example in dependence on the selected transmission has the efiect that the associated mark, perhaps a front mark 29, is displaced by one hundredth of a millimetre, a tenth of a millimetre or by one millimetre. Larger adjustment paths are carried out by one of the control press buttons 41 or 42 being depressed until the associated scale 36 and counter 49 indicate the required setting of the frontmark 29. If thereby the end of the total range of adjustment is reached, that part of the terminal switch 39 responding in this direction of adjustment switches off the setting motor 31. The gear wheel transmission 35 is designed in such a manner that the total range of adjustment corresponds to one revolution of the cam 40 or less, so that each setting point on the scale 36 only corresponds to a predetermined adjustment. Since the switch press buttons 41, 45 chosen as actuating means, which buttons are constructed and arranged in the manner of the control press buttons shown in the drawing, can be provided at all points of the machine at which it seems desirable, it is therefore apparent that counters 45 can be arranged at the same place, so that it is possible to carry out the setting of the marks 29, 30 also from that part of the machine at which the result of this adjustment can be determined by reference to the finished workpiece. In this way, the machine can be arranged and maintained in this operative condition without it being necessary for the control devices arranged in the housings to be acted upon, thereby also dispensing with unnecessary connections to the devices to be influenced or to the main operating position of the machine.

FIG. 3 shows an automatic punching machine, in which the devices according to FIGS. 1 and 2 have been incorporated. The tool arrangement 1 includes the upper platen 2 of which FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view. As is clearly shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the upper platen carries a plywood plate 107 in which knives 108, arranged in the desired configuration, are embedded. These knives project downwardly beyond the surface of the plate 107 and are thus brought to bear against the work pieces 55 when the platen 2 is lowered. The upper platen 2 is driven by the eccentric shafts 52, 53 through the intermediary of connecting rods 50, 51 apparent from FIG. 4. 4 designates the lower platen, which is supported against the machine frame 54 with the adjusting wedges 6 interposed. Thus the force with which the platen 2 engages the abutment 3 at the time of processing can be adjusted as desried. The eccentric shafts 52, 53 are driven by the drive pinion 58 through the intermediary of the herringbone gears 56, 57. The pinion 58 is driven by the drive motor through the intermediary of a hywheel. The drive pinion 58 carries also a bevel wheel 59, which drives by way of a mating bevel wheel 60 the drive shaft 61 for a second bevel gear 62. The driven wheel 63 of said second bevel gear is coaxial with a gear 64 driving an endless chain 65. The chain 65 slides in the rail guides 66. The same rail guides serve to guide the roller 67 of the gripper bar carriages 68, which carry in turn the gripper bars 69 for the workpieces. These gripper bars are set with grippers, which are indicated at 70 and are controlled in a manner which will be explained hereinafter. The gripper bars 69 have racklike lugs 71, whereby the gripper bars are controlled in a manner to be described more fully hereinafter. Couplings (not shown) are provided for this purpose, which enable the gripper bar carriages 67, 68 to be uncoupled from the chain 65 and to be reconnected to the chain at the required time. To this end the rail guide 66 has special parts which are effective as control rails and which act on the actuating means of the couplings. In addition to the gear 64 for driving the chain 65, additional gears 72 and 73 are provided at all chain reversing points. Close to the feed table the so-called feed station is disposed, in which the workpieces fed over the feed table 74 are connected to a gripper bar 69. That feed station is denoted at 1, whereas the processing station proper is denoted by H and the discharge station is denoted by III. In the feed station I a segment 75 engages the rack 71 of an approaching gripper bar carriage. The coupling between the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 and the chain 65 has been disengaged at the latest at that time. Thus the gripper bar carriage is left to itself. The toothed segment 75 is controlled by the toothed segment 76, which is controlled by the cam 80 through the intermediary of the links 77, 78 and the cam follower 79. The control cam 80 is shaped so that the toothed segment 75 has decelerated the gripped gripper bar carriages 67, 68 to zero speed when the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 has just moved into the piece 82 of the rail 66. That piece 82 is movable transversely to the straight rail piece 81 and is controlled through the intermediary of appropriate linkages by the control cam 83, which is shaped so that at the time when the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 moved into the rail piece 82 has reached zero speed, the rail piece and with it the gripper bar carriage are pulled down to such a position that the workpiece on the feed table 74 lies exactly opposite to the grippers 70 of that gripper bar carriage 67, 68. Thus the workpiece 55 comes into the range of the grippers 70. The latter are controlled in a known manner by eccentric shaft, which terminates in a claw arrangement. That claw arrangement can be entered by the appropriately designed plunger 84, which is controlled through the intermediary of the cam follower 85 by the camwheel 86. The latter is shaped so that the grippers are closed at the time when the rail piece 82 has reached its lowermost position. Now the operations are performed in the reverse order. At the time when the grippers 70 have closed and gripped the workpiece, the cam 83 causes the lifting of the rail piece 82 and of the gripper bar carriage 67, 68. As soon as the rail piece 82 and with it the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 have reached their uppermost position, in which the rack 71 is in mesh with the toothed seg ment 75, the cam 80 will cause a rotation of said segment 75 so that the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 is accelerated by way of the rack 71 to the speed of the conveyor chain 65. As soon as the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 and the workpiece 55 have reached the speed of the conveyor chain 65, a control rail lug of the rail 66 causes the coupling between the chain 65 and the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 to be engaged. Thus the workpiece is moved from the feed station I to the processing station II. In that processing station II the operations shown for the feed station I are analogously repeated in the same order. After the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 has been uncoupled from the chain the carriage is first decelerated to zero speed with the aid of the toothed segment 87. That toothed segment is controlled by the toothed rim 88, which is controlled by the camwheel 91 through the intermediary of the linkage 89 and the cam follower 90. As soon as the camwheel 91 has brought the gripper bar carriage to rest, through the intermediary of the toothed segment 87 and rack 71, the transversely movable rail piece 92 is lowered by the link 93, the cam follower 94 and the carnwheel 96 until the workpiece has reached the position in which it rests on the abutment 82. That control of the workpiece 55 has just been illustrated in FIG. 3. Then the upper platen 2 with the tools 1 is lowered by the drive 56, 57, so that the workpiece is punched as required. As soon as the processing operation has been terminated the cam 95 causes the movable rail 92 and the workpiece to he lifted. That lifting causes the workpiece to be pulled out of the recesses of the abutment 3 so that it does not adhere thereto as has often been the case in previous constructions of such punching machines. As soon as the rail piece 92 has moved into the rail 81 the rack 71 comes again into mesh with the toothed segment 87. At the same time the control cam 91 causes the segment 87 to start moving and to accelerate the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 with the processed workpiece 55 to the speed of the chain 65. At the time when the gripper bar carriage and the workpiece have been accelerated to the speed of the chain 65, the coupling engages under the action of a control rail lug so that the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 is again connected to the conveyor chain 65. That conveyor chain moves the processed work-piece then to the discharge station III. In the latter the rail 66 is also provided with control rail lugs, which disengage the coupling between the chain 65 and the gripper bar carriage 67, 68. When the coupling has been disengaged and the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 has been uncoupled from the conveyor chain 65, the rack lug 71 of that gripper bar carriage 67, 68 enters the toothed segment 96. The toothed segment 96 is in engagement with the toothed rim 97, which is operated by the cam follower 98, which engages a control curve 99. That control curve is so formed that in the time when the rack 71 has moved into the toothed segment 96 that toothed segment reduces the velocity of the gripper oar carriage, which was equal to the speed of the chain 65 until that time, to zero speed. When that zero speed has been reached, the pressure member 100 acts on the claw which controls the eccentric shaft for the actuation of the grippers 70, The pressure memher 100 is controlled through the intermediary of links 101 by the cam follower 102, which engages the cam 103. The cam 103 controls the grippers to release the workpiece at the time when the gripper bar carriage 67, 68 has reached zero speed. Thus the completely processed workpiece is released and reaches in a known manner the discharge table 104.

What has been said hereinbefore for one gripper bar carriage 67, 68 applies analogously for all gripper bar carriages which can be connected to one chain 65.

The control push buttons 18, 19 provided in accordance with FIG. 1 for incrementally moving the adjusting wedges 6 when said control push buttons are operated only once, or to adjust them by so many increments as correspond to the number of actuations of the control push button 18, 19, are provided on the main control station 105 of the machine, which is close to the feed table 74. This is apparent from FIG. 4. In addition to that main control station 105 an auxiliary control station 106 is provided, which is shown in FIG. 5. In accordance therewith the control push buttons 18, 19 are also provided on the auxiliary control station 106. The figure shows also the counter 20 of FIG. 1, which is provided on the auxiliary control station 106. On the other hand, the scale arrangement 16 is provided only on the main control station 105. The figure shows further the counters 49 for the adjustment of the front and side marks 29 and 30 of FIG. 2. Front marks 29 are apparent also from FIG. 3 near the feed table 74. The actuating buttons 41, 45 for adjusting the front and side marks are provided on the main control station 105 and also on the auxiliary control station 106 so that the front and side marks can be adjusted as required by the workpieces discharged on the discharge table 104.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show how the front marks 29, one of which is illustrated, cooperate with the work pieces. As may best be seen from FIG. 7, the front mark 29 forms an abutment opposite the feed table 74 so that when an edge of a curved work piece contacts both marks 29 the position of such work piece is partly determined. The side mark 30 (not shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) is similary arranged, so that when the workpiece contacts the two front marks 29 and the side mark 30, this three-point contact determines the exact position of the workpiece 55. Each of the marksis slidably arranged in the feed table 74, such as by way of a dove-tail slide mounting portion 29' which is received in a groove 29a of mating cross-section. The portion 29' is formed with a depending lug 29" which is threaded so as to mesh with the corresponding spindle 48. As is described above, the spindle 48 is connected to the corresponding motor 31 by way of gearing 33 which is arranged within the gear box 32.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic machine having moving means for moving work pieces from a receiving zone past a work zone to a delivery zone, the improvement, comprising tool means arranged at said work zone for working work pieces passing therethrough, said tool means including a pair of cooperating components one of which is movable toward and away from the other during working of the work pieces and the other of which components is normally stationary but is adapted to be moved toward and away from said one component so as to enable adjustment of said components relative to each other, at least one of said components carrying a tool for working work pieces passed between said components; first moving means for moving said movable component toward and away from said normally stationary component so as to work work pieces passing between said components; second moving means independent of said first moving means for moving said, normally stationary component in a step-Wise manner toward and away from said movable component so as to adjust the work done by said components on work pieces passing between them; a plurality of control means each operatively connected with said second moving means for actuating the same, said plurality of control means being arranged, respectively, at a'plurality of control points, and each of said control means being operable by an operator stationed at the respective control point; and a plurality of indicating counters arranged at said control points, respectively, and operatively connected to said second moving means for indicating to an operator stationed at any of said respective control points the number of steps which said normally stationary component is away from a predetermined index position, whereby an operator stationed at any of said control points may adjust the position of said normally stationary component in a step-wise manner and be apprised of the number of steps which said normally stationary component is away from said predetermined index position.

2. The improvement defined in claim 1, and means for limiting the movement of said normally stationary component between two predetermined end positions.

3. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein one of said control points is in the region of said delivery zone.

4. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein one of said control points is in the region of said delivery zone and another of said control points is in the region of said receiving zone.

' 5. The improvement defined in claim 1, and slip-friction means interposed between said second moving means and said normally stationary component for limiting the maximum moving force which the former can exert on the latter.

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